Visible from afar: romantic Wernigerode Castle towers high above the little town north of the Harz mountains. It’s just one of many highlights on every corner in and around Wernigerode – especially in the restored old town with its colourful timber-framed houses.

It may sound like a German bar, but the Deutsches Eck (German Corner) is actually a spit of land at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle. It got its name from the Teutonic Order of Knights which settled here in 1216 and a monument to Kaiser Wilhelm I was built here to commemorate the unification of the German Empire. Dedicated in 1897, destroyed in 1945, declared a memorial to German unity in 1953 and reconstructed in 1993, the 37m-high monument now attracts more than 2 million visitors every year and since 2002 it has been part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage site.

With its authentic, eye-catching façade, the Pied Piper’s house in the historical old quarter is a living piece of the world of fairy tales. Built by Alderman H. Arendes in 1602–1603, the house is among the most beautiful constructions of the Weser Renaissance. The Pied Piper himself did not live in this houseit bears its name since around 1900, due to an inscription found on the side of the house, which reminds passers-by of the fairy tale about the Pied Piper. This is the oldest version of the tale of the Pied Piper, and it tells us that on 26 June 1284, 130 children were kidnapped from Hamelin by a rat-catcher with a pipe. Nowadays a restaurant serves Hamelin specialties like tasty rat tails and rat killer, a delicious liqueur, in the historic house.